Fastball

Luis Arraez to Join Rare Baseball History as He's Set to Be Traded

After a dreadful start to the season, the Miami Marlins are sending back-to-back batting champion Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres in a multi-player trade.

Brady Farkas

May 3, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Miami Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez (3) sits in the
May 3, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Miami Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez (3) sits in the / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
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The Miami Marlins are throwing in the towel early this year.

After another loss on Friday night, the Marlins are 9-25 on the year, and now they are trading their best overall offensive player.

Per Jeff Passan of ESPN on social media:

BREAKING: The San Diego Padres are nearing a deal to acquire second baseman Luis Arraez from the Miami Marlins for a package of three prospects and a relief pitcher, a source familiar with the deal tells ESPN. The trade is in medical review but is expected to be finalized soon.

Arraez was not in the lineup on Friday for the Marlins, but as of Saturday morning, the Marlins have not officially announced the deal. One of the best contact hitters in the game, Arraez is hitting .299 this season with a .347 on-base percentage.

He's won the batting title in consecutive years, capturing the award in 2022 with the Minnesota Twins and in 2023 with the Marlins. He's hit .316 and .354 in those years, respectively.

This trade will also put Arraez in a small class of baseball history, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Luis Arraez would be the 2nd multi-time batting champ to be traded midseason the year after winning an additional title, joining:

1933 Lefty O’Doul

h/t (@EliasSports)

Given that the trade isn't official yet, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Arraez not debut in San Diego until next week. The Padres, who also traded for Dylan Cease in the offseason, are now 17-18. Arraez is a free agent after the 2025 season.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.